Dozens of students say they were sprayed with a foul-smelling chemical during a pro-Palestine rally on Columbia University’s campus Friday night, according to a report by the school’s newspaper.
Some attendants told the Columbia Spectator they recognized the chemical as Skunk, which has been used by the Israeli military against demonstrators in the West Bank. It’s identified by its putrid stench, described as a mix of decomposing flesh and excrement and worse than raw sewage. The revolting smell can linger on clothes for days after it is deployed.
While the chemical’s manufacturer claims it is harmless, student protestors reported symptoms such as burning eyes, headaches, and nausea. The Columbia Spectator reported that a disabled student was diagnosed with “exposure to a harmful chemical,” which worsened her autoimmune condition and caused her to miss class for days.
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“The Department of Public Safety is investigating incidents reported in connection with Friday’s protest that are of great concern,” the Ivy League school’s Department of Safety said in a statement.
“Public Safety received an initial complaint on Friday night, with additional complaints filed on Sunday. The Department has been actively working with local and federal authorities in this investigation, with the NYPD taking a lead role.”
The NYPD told the Spectator that it was investigating after receiving one report.
Organizations supporting the protest, including two pro-Palestine clubs that were suspended from the university in December, claimed in a joint statement on Instagram that two people behind the alleged spraying incident had been identified as former Israeli Defense Force soldiers and current Columbia students. According to witnesses, the students were wearing fake versions of the keffiyeh, a Palestinian scarf that has become a symbol of solidarity and resistance, and verbally assailed protestors who held a “CU Jews for Ceasefire” banner.
The Pro-Palestine organizations accused Columbia of failing to protect students who express pro-Palestine sentiments from escalating harassment in the nearly four months since Israel launched its military offensive on the Gaza Strip.
“So far, Columbia has done absolutely nothing about the hundreds of reports of unrelenting harassment that pro-Palestine students have been facing,” they said. “We demand that Columbia start taking the constant hateful attacks on its students seriously before— to be blunt—one of us is killed.”
